Aside from a cruise, Daniel hasn’t been out of the U.S. before. There’s a lot on our list to see in the states of course, but this winter we decided it was time to go overseas together for the first time. Ireland topped both of our lists, so we grabbed some cheap tickets & made plans for late April (thanks, Scott’s Cheap Flights!).
We boarded in Dallas at 3:45pm on a Saturday and tried (read: failed) to sleep for the next 9 hours. After a much too short layover spent mostly sprinting and flashing an orange express card at anyone that would look at us, we drove out of Dublin in our rental by 11am Sunday. (Highly recommend taking a direct flight or layovers in the U.S. only, you guys.)
Daniel was already nervous about driving on the left side of the road, so we asked for an automatic. Though we originally booked a tiny car, they free-upgraded us to a bigger SUV, which honestly made navigating all the tiny roads super difficult. Still, the car we had was roomy and thankfully had built in navigation & great gas mileage.
Daniel in roundabout #1 of 9,000
Big fan of the hedge median dividers – why can’t Texas have nice things?
Exhausted and hungry, we made it to Belfast in just under 2 hours. We killed some time before check in with a peaceful meal at Soul’s Restaurant (see more in our Vegan Food Recap), where we ate slowly and watched the busy downtown street outside.
Not sure what this Death Star looking sculpture was in downtown Belfast
Row houses dominate
Street art everywhere
Finally at 3:30 we pulled up in front of our neat little town home and discovered the nicest bedroom waiting for us. We immediately slept for 2 hours, and then grudgingly forced ourselves up and out to see some of the city.
View from our listing doorstep
Sunset colors on the way to the Peace Wall
Eat Street’s unicorn cupcake
Ready to find some food
Dinner was wonderful, we had no idea eating vegan in Belfast would be as easy as it was, and were really thankful they served us so close to closing time. Happily fed and rested enough to explore, we sought out the Peace Wall just as sunset hit. This was one of Daniel’s must-do’s in Belfast and did not disappoint. You can feel the tension and history simmering in those walls. Honestly incredible. So glad we had the chance to see it.
Daniel spent a lot of time reading the notes on this one
Awesome metal face sculpture
Reminds me of Portland so much
I’m 12
Obsessed with moss, even street moss. I don’t discriminate.
100.
City waking up
More street art as we drove out of town
While we had very little time to stay in Belfast, we greatly enjoyed our time there and would visit again in a heartbeat. It really reminded me of Anchorage – gritty, by the sea and full of heart.
Our next stop: exploring the North Antrim coast & making our way to Donegal!
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